State Wrestling: Dakota's Alber claims fourth state title

Saturday

Feb 22, 2014 at 10:57 PMFeb 22, 2014 at 11:02 PM

By Jay TaftRockford Register Star

CHAMPAIGN - Last season, when Dakota's Josh Alber won his third straight state wrestling title with ease, he stormed off the mat, disgusted with himself after he did not earn a pin in the final match of the year.

He won it all, he stayed perfect in his high-school career, but he didn't do it the way he wanted to, and he didn't enjoy it.

"That wasn't going to happen this year," Alber said just a couple of minutes after he easily locked in another state championship on Saturday with a 16-5 major-decision win in the Class 1A 132-pound finals. "I was going to let myself enjoy it this time, that's for sure."

After he shot in like a blur and took down Coal City's Casey Brown for the sixth time in the match midway through the third, bumping his lead to over 10 and all but clinching the victory in the state-championship showdown, he had no problem enjoying it. He immediately let the entire roaring crowd inside the State Farm Center know that he was enjoying every second of it this time, waving four fingers in the air as he alternated his gaze from the raging Dakota fanbase to the sky.

"I wouldn't want it any other way. It's just pure joy that I'm feeling right now," said Alber, the future University of Northern Iowa wrestler. "I can't remember the last time I cried about anything. But after this one, after this one I was balling like a little baby. It's an amazing feeling.

"The rest is history."

Alber is close to making history, and he's as close to perfect on the wrestling mat than any other Illinois wrestler before him.

Although he still has to remain undefeated through the team sectional and team state tournaments, the Dakota senior heaved a giant sigh of relief after climbing to 44-0 this season, and after raising his overall mark in high-school matches to an impressive 177-0.

While not official yet, he's inches away from being etched into the state's wrestling record books as the first person to stay undefeated and go without a tie while winning four state championships. Sterling Newman's Mike Mena (157-0-1) earned a tie in the first match of his junior season, opening the door ever so slightly for Alber.

On Saturday, he stuck a foot through the door. Next week, as Dakota looks to defend its 1A team state title, he plans on jumping in and slamming it shut behind him.

"I'm not worried about next week," Alber added. "This is the tournament when everything can go wrong. This is where I could have lost it all."

But he didn't. And Alber wasn't the only Dakota wrestler to step to the top of the medal podium, either. In fact, Alber was among a stretch of four straight finals with a Dakota wrestler in it - the Indians won three of them, including a 1-0 victory by J.J. Wolfe (38-4) at 138.

Carver James (41-1) rolled to a 19-7 major win in the 152-pound title match, ending the title dreams of Durand senior Gacob Lenox (33-4), though he did become just the third Durand wrestler to ever earn a state medal.

Greg Krulas (34-11) lost 3-1 at 145, and two other Dakota finalists fell as well, both at hands of Byron wrestlers. Dillon Swift (34-12) allowed Byron's Brady Wilsie (40-2) to escape in overtime, falling 2-1 in the finals at 106. And Printice Walls (31-9) was stuck by now-two-time state champ Nelson Baker (42-0) in the second period of the 120-pound final.

Baker, who won a state title at 113 as a freshman in 2012 but did not place last year, regained his form, in a big way. He pinned every opponent he faced in regionals, sectionals and this week at the state tourney, which was just how he mapped it all out.

"That was the plan. After I let it slip away last year, I decided I was going to go after this year, and I was going to dominate the whole way," Baker said. "This feeling I have right now, this feeling can't be topped."

Lena-Winslow's pair of defending champs did it again, and they both did so in commanding fashion. Quincy Kalkbrenner (41-2) overpowered his 160-pound finals' foe by a 7-3 tally, and Ty Harmston (38-1) dominated Byron's Ross Sealby (40-3) during a 12-0 major-decision win at 220 to maintain his crown.

"I thought I was going to puke before the match I was so nervous," Harmston said of his successful defense. "It's such a relief just to get it done. I had to win the second one, and these past couple of months have been such a grind. I can't believe it's all over."

North Boone's Brandon Briggs (30-4) was unable to make it 3-for-3 on state titles when he fell 3-2 in the 113-pound finals, but Winnebago's Sean Ward (36-1) dealt with his shortened season just fine - his Winnebago football team made it to the state quarterfinals, keeping him out the first month of the wrestling season - and he capped it all off with a title at 182 with a second-period pin.

Lutheran's Caleb Micho (42-3) accomplished his ultimate goal in the 126 finals, becoming the Crusaders' second state champ in school history with a 9-6 win.

"I wanted this title as much as I wanted to breathe," Micho exclaimed. "If that guy was going to beat me, he was going to have to kill me."

His teammate Zac Schrank (38-5) controlled his final match of the year and reeled in an 8-1 win for third at 106. Stillman Valley's only qualifier Andy Abitua (27-11) placed third by holding on for a 1-0 win in the medal-matches at 132, and Gunner Wenger (24-4) took third at 138, earning the only non-gold-colored medal for Lena-Winslow on the night.

Other medal winners from Dakota were: Daniel Zimmerman (third at 220); Andrew Wenger (third at 126); Alec Henze (third at 113); and Jared Packer (fourth after an injury default at 160). Gunner Wenger (24-4) took third at 138 with a 3-2 edge, earning the only non-gold-colored medal for Lena-Winslow on the night.